Potential for decreasing attendance

[Zeke]

Wasn't there something brought up in a thread while back in regards to some sort of possible issue/problem between some State Commission, Lucas Oil Stadium, and The Colts football team?

[audiodb]

I understand the whole drainage problem, but if forecasters are predicting relatively low humidity, and no chance of rain.... why have it closed? The roof was open for early season Colts games last year when the humidity was still high. I still do not understand. If they can open it for football games, why not for drum corps?

Were you there for any of those games? Wondering if the box-like shape of the stadium affects air circulation and/or wind.

[danielray]

Having finals in a fixed location will create considerable stability and predictability in attendance, and will almost certain cause an increase attendance.

There are a number of reasons for this, but something to keep in mind is that DCP visitors do not make up a significant portion of attendees at major shows, and are not close to being a representative sample of attendees. As a result, any conclusion drawn about potential attendance numbers based on observations of discussions here should be taken at face value.

I know the numbers for EVERY single DCI show from the late 90's until the present probably about as well as anyone. I dedicated a couple of weeks, full-time, this spring to detailed analysis of this data, developing models to factor variance in attendance against things like gas prices, unemployment levels, average seasonal ranking of groups performing, distance of event from other events and so on.

What is clear is that events that are consistent tend to trend better than those that vary. I would argue that the more consistent the event locations and schedule, the better off the activity will be. With finals in a fixed location, I imagine you should start to see a lot more consistency in the entire tour.

The single largest factor influencing attendance and revenues across all events is the price of gas.

I am a strong advocate of fewer shows at larger venues with lower ticket prices. I do feel that this will increase overall tour revenues, rather than mixing it up with smaller shows and higher ticket prices.

Fan Network members should get discounts on event tickets, and event attendees should get FREE access to each show they attended on the Fan Network if they register their ticket number (the value of the demographic data here is quite significant).

Regarding the monotony of the same location and Indy not really being the most exciting location in the universe... with location consistency, I see there is a good opportunity to create a more festival type atmosphere with other complimentary activities.

Anyway, bottom line, finals in Indy for almost the next 10 years has the potential to create a very positive effect on overall attendance and profitability, not negative.

[dannyboy]

For several reasons, we're not going to Indy. Some have to do with the direction of the all-youth side of the activity; our focus is on the all-age side. Part is we liked going on "vacation" to different cities (loved Boston!!!). I don't get excited about Indy as a "destination." I spent 15 years avoiding it between Chicago and Columbus.

BOA seems to do just fine calling Indy a permanent home.

WGI sells out their show in... Dayton, of all places. Hey, you can also check out the Air Force Museum (actually very cool)

If attendance drops, it will be because of the product/appeal -- not the venue/host city.

[jwillis35]

I don't think having finals in Indianapolis for the next 8 or 9 years is going to hurt DCI that much. Honestly, I can see the point of the OP, but I really doubt people are planning full week-long vacations around DCI Finals. Maybe a short vacation.

Indianapolis is a great city, is close to many major cities like Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, and even Cleveland and Detroit are not that far away. You have Madison and Milwaukee, and many more. So it's close for a large portion of the Midwestern population. Is it an ideal location for everyone? No. BUt that would never be the case, no matter where yo go.

Right now is a difficult time for DCI because the economy is a bigger issue and is certainly hurting show attendance and advanced ticket sales. Yet, I truly believe that DCI may luck out because finals is in Indy, and that a number of people may decide at the last minute to spend a day or two checking out a few of those competitions. I know that I have decided to head out for Semi-Finals. I wish I could stay for Finals, but I have a gig that night. Yet, because Indy is not that far away I can make Friday happen. I would go Thursday but bingo for our local drum corps is a must.

Maybe this is just me, but I see vacations in 3 ways: a) some time off from work where you just hang out at home, relax, recharge, work on some other projects, b) the weekend or short vacation where there is a specific agenda (Finals, concert, going to the lake for the weekend, etc.), and c) the week-long or two-week long vacation where you travel to a destination for the purposes of relaxation, family, and the opportunities that destination offers.

I am not saying there isn't much to do in Indy, because there is (great city), but most people are not traveling to finals for the "Disney" package that Indy is offering. We are going for DCI, and Indy just happens to be the place.

[Lance]

When I've gone to quaters, semis, and finals, all I wanted to do was get in the day of quarters, and leave as quickly as possible after finals.

What is there to do in Madison for more than a few days? Or Buffalo? Or Orlando if you're under the age of 15 and/or not a partier?

[Bob J]

Hey, that doesn't rhyme! What gives?

[garfield]

I'll opt in on this one. This will be my 26th finals and, up until last year, I never had to plan a vacation. We drive a motorhome to finals and would always take the week before or after to discover where ever finals would be. Despite being in Madison for so many years the kids loved the waterparks north in Baraboo and we always had a wide choice of nice campgrounds to park our 40' diesel "camper". Last year wasn't so bad because there is a nice campground south of Bloomington and we took the kids to Indiana Beach for the week after finals. But there isn't a decent campground, with decent reviews, in the entire Indy general area! Choices are slim, the reviews are marginal, and the closest is 25 minutes away. We've decided to park in front of a friends house for just two nights instead of stay at a marginal campground. There are a few things to do with kids in Indy, but not enough to keep them entertained for the whole week. We'll be arriving on Friday mid-day and Indy won't be getting near the money from us that other cities on the "rotation" schedule did.

My biggest complaint is we're terrible at planning a non-drum corps vacation because we've never had to before! Where to go? What to do. These answers were easy when we knew where we were going. We bought the motorhome to travel to drum corps and see the local sites, not to drive 4 hours from Columbus year after year.

My beef is the vacation part of it but I think the consistant venue will be great. I wonder how long it will take corps to start to use the venue's accoustics to their advantage? Playing back field for reverb might take on a whole new meaning when the whole place is a reverb. And I wonder how long it will take Hoppy to arrange the roof opening and closing on cue to produce echos and intentional reverb?? It might be really great!

All that said it's hard to argue with finals being just four hours away. Running over for 3 days, then planning a separate family vacation might be the best of both worlds.

Just MHO.

[Cardman]

The discussion in one of the review threads has brought this to the surface so I thought it would be a good discussion point. People are voicing that they tend to plan summer vacations around DCI finals, and now that it is in the same venue until the return of Christ are opting out of going to finals in favor of a major regional like Allentown, given that they just don't want to vacation in the same spot each summer. (snip)

Actually, noone knows when Christ will return. We just know it will be unexpected. But seriously, this did make me chuckle a bit. I think this decision by DCI to have finals in the same city for 10 years will be the death of DCI. I remember the 3 years in Florida and how COMPLETELY BORED of that city I was by the third year. Add 7 more years to that? No, thank you. RIP, DCI.

[KeyboardGuy]

From the stadium website:

NFL rules for roof opening -- home team determines if roof is to be opened or closed 90 minutes before kickoff (except if precipitation is within the vicinity of LOS, temperature is below 40 degrees, or wind gusts are greater than 40 mph, then roof is automatically closed). It remains open unless there are hazardous conditions (lightning, severe winds, precipitation, low temperatures, etc.) Once closed, the roof may not be reopened.

For events other than Colts games, operation of the roof and window will be solely at the discretion of Lucas Oil Stadium management. Due to the fact that the football field does not have a drainage system, and plumbing and piping are not insulated in Lucas Oil Stadium like many other outdoor stadiums, the roof should be closed during any inclement weather. If the outdoor temperature is below 42 degrees Fahrenheit, the roof will be closed.